Endoscopes are extensively used in the examination and surgical treatment of interior body cavities such as the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine. Generally, an endoscope may include a control portion having a handle fitted with finger-actuated control features and an elongated, flexible, tubular insertion portion which extends from the control portion. The insertion portion may terminate in a viewing window which enables an operator of the endoscope to view the interior body cavity or cavities of the patient into which the endoscope is inserted. An irrigation nozzle at the end of the insertion portion may maintain clarity of the viewing window by ejecting irrigation fluid against and washing body fluids and the like from the window. A suction nozzle at the end of the insertion portion may facilitate suction and removal of irrigation fluid and body fluid from the viewing window.
Some laparoscopes may be fitted with a instrument-receiving channel through which a surgical instrument can be inserted to perform surgical procedures in the body cavity in which the endoscope is inserted. However, conventional laparoscope designs may not facilitate placement of the surgical instrument at the desired position around the circumference of the endoscope relative to the viewing window according to the preference of the laparoscope operator. Therefore, an endoscope having circumferential surgical instrument positioning capability is needed.